News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-03-17

A CURIOUS MIsHAP AT SCR lNToV RE,
CALLING A TERRIBLE RAnaoAD CATAs-
TROPHE.

SCRAToN, PA-Saturday night Den
mis- Mack, engineer on a switch engine
in the yards of the Lackawanna Iron and
Coal ompauy in this city, ran his en-
CINE into the engine house. As he was
to go on duty again at l o'clock Sunday
morning he lay down in the cab of his
engine to sleep until that time. Just
before o'clock workmen in the yard
were startled by a great crash at the
engine house, which is frame building
Looking in the directions of the house
they saw one side of it give way and
Mack's engine come tearing out of the
breach The engine ran a short distance
over the ground and then toppled over
down an embankment twenty feet high.
1t rolled over and over in the descent,
and was badly wrecked. The working
men knew that Mack was on the engine,
and expected to find him crushed to
death in the debris. They found him
fast in the wreck, and although he was
held so that it took them some time to
extricate him. he was found to have
received but a few slight injuries.
Mack could not explain what caused the
engine to start, but it is supposed that
he started up in his sleep and pulled
the hrottle open.
This singular occurrence recalls the
fact that one of the most terrible rail
road disasters that ever occurred in this
country was caused by an engineer start
ing his engine while he was asleep 1t
was in July, 1869, on the Erie Railway,
at Mast Hope Station, on the Delaware
division. The track was then a single
one on that part of the road Conductor
Jud Brown had orders to lie on the
switch at Mast Hope until fast express
train No. 8, West bound, passed. James
Griffin was the engineer of the freight
train As the express train approached
the station at midnight, running thirty
five miles an hour, Conductor Brown
was Mortified to see his train pulling out
on the main track. Griffin's engine
reached the main track directly in front
of the express, and a terrific collision
was the resu t The cars on the express
train were piled on top of one another
and caught fire. Many passengers were
killed outright. A dozen others were
held in the wreck and burned alive.
The depot caught fire and was destroyed
Griffin discovered the situation in time
to jump from his engine. He fed, but
afterward surrendered himself and was
lodged in the Pike county Jail. He was
tried for manslaughter in September,
1869. He was defended by the late
Chief Justice George w. Woodward.
1t was proved on the trial that he had
been on duty twenty four hours without
sleep, and the point made by the de-
fence was that while waiting on the
switch he was overcome by the strain
and fell asleep. He was partially
awakened by he approaching train, and
pulled open the throttle of his engine
before he knew what he was doing. A
jury acquitted him, against
The charge of Judge Barrett to con
Vict, and were publicly ceusured by the |
Court The disaster made the name of |
Mast Hope so notorious all over the
country that the railroad company
changed the name of the station to |
Pine Grove, which it retained until a
lew weeks ago, when it was changed |
back to Mast Hope. The remains of |
several of the victims of the catas-
trophe were never identified. The dis |
aster cost the company 500.